It’s the Vote that Counts

I stayed late at the Assembly meeting where Bob Shefchik was being considered for a temporary position on the board of the IGU, testifying on behalf of Patrice Lee. I was asked to be there by a colleague working in

Puerto Rico on relief efforts. Anyone who knows about the ongoing crisis will recognize the difficulty in getting cell service and the importance of a few text messages urging me to give a voice to the issue. That issue

is the vote. Like many, I came down because the votes were cast in favor of Mrs. Lee to add her perspective to the discussion of how we can best move forward with getting the affordable energy to the people who

need it the most. However, there is another vote that is at the heart of this controversy, the vote to purchase Pentex. A vote the IGU may make at their very next meeting. I did some due diligence in thoroughly

reviewing the tape of the meeting and what I heard was disturbing. To me, the glaring “red fag” was the question. How can someone who has been involved from the beginning possibly be objective? This word was

used many times, adamantly at some points, by the Mayor to describe why he chose Mr. Shefchik. Furthermore, his rebuttal against Mrs. Lee stated that she was not objective because she had already made up her

mind about the Pentex deal, implying that as a board member she would have automatically voted “no”. As Mr. Roberts commented, he sees Shefchik as “the person to give answers” about the project as an expert. An

expertise he could have continued to provide as a volunteer, but now he has a vote. Like the Assembly and even the Mayor, I do not have all the details of this deal, but Like Mr. Sattley said, “this smells fshy”. Indeed,

the comparison was made between the Pentex deal and buying a used car, which makes the appointment disturbingly convenient, raising more fags. Write the IGU members. Tell them to vote no on